


A Boy and His Dragon AU

by AvocadoLove



Series: Abridged AUs [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragon Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Fish out of Water, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Northern Water Tribe, Soul Bond, Southern Water Tribe, Water Tribe Zuko (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28266327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvocadoLove/pseuds/AvocadoLove
Summary: The abridged story exploring if Zuko also had a dragon form, went to live with the Southern Water Tribe after his Agni Kai, and accidentally bonded with Sokka.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Abridged AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1430638
Comments: 20
Kudos: 413
Collections: Finished111





	A Boy and His Dragon AU

**Author's Note:**

> Got attacked by a rouge plot bunny who insisted on me writing out this prompt. BIG thanks to everyone on Tumblr who helped me flesh it out, especially @the-hot-zone and @thenightwolf51 who provided extra juicy ideas. Thanks guys!

**ZUKO**

Starts with the canon events up to the Agni Kai. Only when Zuko screams when he’s burned, rainbow-colored fire comes out and engulfs him. Ozai is unburned but startled enough to jump clear. When the fire rolls away, a dazed white dragon twice Zuko’s size crouches in his place. (White because it’s seen as an unlucky color in many Asian cultures. The dragon has Zuko’s dark hair on its ruff, gold eyes, and a huge open burn where Human!Zuko had it.)

For a few seconds, there is nothing but shocked silence. Then the crowd starts screaming. Ozai smiles. Agni has blessed him. Now he has the opportunity to kill the last dragon and earn the rank for himself. It’s the one thing Iroh has that Ozai never could achieve.

While Zuko’s swinging his head back and forth, vocalizing distressed dragon sounds and trying to understand the change of his body through the pain of his burn, Ozai charges.

A bolt of lightning strikes between the two, throwing Ozai and Zuko back. Zuko regains his feet first, looks to see the source of the lightning: It came from Iroh.

At that moment, Zuko knows two things: He has the body of a dragon, and Iroh _killed_ the last dragon.

Iroh wants to kill him. (Not really, but Zuko doesn’t know that.)

Instinct takes over and Zuko flings himself into the sky. By this time, anyone who wants power or just wants to prove they are loyal to Ozai, shoots fireballs at him. Luckily, Zuko gains altitude fast, and what fire does hit rolls off his tough scales.

Zuko is panicked and just flies up and away. He’s caught by the jet stream and then, weirdly, a storm that lashes him around for hours, maybe even a full day. He crashes in snow and that’s all he knows.

**SOKKA**

The men have been gone to war for a whole week. He is determined to be the man of the tribe, the hunter and provider. (We’ll learn later that before they left, Hakoda and the rest of the men provisioned the women with at least a year’s worth of stored and jerked meat.)

Sokka is well away from the village on his hunt when he sees… is that a pile of snow steaming by the ice-shore?

Turns out, no. It’s an exhausted, half-dead dragon.

Sokka thinks: _Awesome, dragon jerky._

Zuko is not impressed by Sokka’s spear, but is in a lot of pain + infection and exhaustion. He lashes out and accidentally knocks Sokka, and himself, into the drink.

Zuko drags himself out and breath of fire’s himself warm (which dragons can do by instinct). Sokka, however, is being dragged under by his clothing. Zuko rolls his eyes and pulls him out. Then, upon seeing the boy is still rapidly dying of cold (reluctantly) breathes steam on him to warm him up.

Sokka cannot help but notice the big, slightly oozing burn on the left side of Zuko’s face. He balls up snow and melts fresh water over it, which is a relief because dunking a burn into saltwater _hurt_.

Through starts and stops, Zuko and Sokka find a tentative truce and understanding – if not communication. Zuko has a dragon brain. He _knows_ Sokka is speaking words and _knows_ he used to speak, too, but to his dragon brain, it sounds a lot like chittering? He doesn’t understand any of it, and his stiff dragon mouth can’t form words in reply.

However, when one of the two trailing tendrils from his muzzle brushes against Sokka’s forehead – they accidentally open a connection and discover they can exchange emotions/pictures/memories. (Later, as time goes on and their understanding grows deeper, Zuko basically speaks to Sokka.)

Zuko doesn’t tell him he used to be Fire Nation. As far as he thinks, he is a boy who died without honor and rose as an (unlucky) white dragon. His mother used to tell him a folk tale about it.

Sokka is warmer but in no condition to travel back to the village. A blizzard rolls in, and Zuko shields Sokka with his body. He has one heck of an inner fire to keep him alive, and the blowing snow piles up against him as sort of a snow-cave, but he’s suffering by the time Gran-Gran and the rest of the village elders find the two of them the next morning.

Sokka does some fast talk—someone mentions an old tale about wise dragon spirits. A sled and a team of polar dogs are fetched to bring the dragon back to the village. Zuko, seeing Sokka’s hut, invites himself in. He’s snaky enough to get through the door and basically curls around the inside parameter of the igloo as reasonably close to the fire as he can get for the heat.

Gran-Gran isn’t happy but it’s not like anyone can move a dragon if he doesn’t want to leave.

(Cute moment here where Katara asks Zuko to raise a hindfoot—he’s standing on her doll. He’s half-unconscious but he moves after she points to her toy.)

Gran-Gran and Katara take care of the burn while Sokka holds Zuko’s head down to keep him from thrashing around and cracking the igloo apart. They reluctantly feed Zuko from the village stores, which is a BIG problem because Zuko has a BIG stomach… and he outright refuses meat that isn’t smoked or cooked, first

By the time a few days pass, people are getting worried. The men left them with a store of food that was supposed to last at least through this winter, if not the next, but at the rate the dragon eats…

Sokka communicates this to Zuko. After a week, Zuko is strong enough to go out hunting. Most people (everyone but Sokka) think he’ll simply fly off.

He actually does fly away… and comes back about an hour later hauling the carcass of a giant razer-toothed leopard seal. The meat alone is enough to feed the village for a month.

Zuko tells Sokka that he wants his portion stewed, please. And seasoned with something _more_ than salt. Then he goes back into the igloo to sleep.

Time starts passing. Zuko learns to communicate with Katara, though their connection is not as deep as between him and Sokka. Gran-Gran… tries, but she is a little set in her ways and tends to regard Zuko as a very, very intelligent dog. The opinion is shared by most of the Tribe, though they do honor and appreciate him for his hunting prowess.

Zuko heals with the canon-scar. The skin is angry red looking, and the scales are thick over the eye, narrowing it. What remains of his left ear is a stub. He’s also a little blind and partially deaf on that side.

As summer days lengthen, Sokka convinces Zuko to try a saddle so they can hunt together. Zuko agrees but flat out rejects any harness or reins. By this point, they can exchange thoughts if Sokka is within a few feet of him, so Sokka agrees to the saddle only. He builds the saddle out of spare leather and fashions some goggles for flight too – total Hiccup inventing move.

Flying is the best thing ever. They are death from above. (Haha, stole from the Blue Avatar movie). Soon the tribe basically has _more_ meat than what it needs. Some fruit and veggies would be good, but Sokka and Zuko can’t hunt for that in the air. They do collect seaweed, though.

During the summer solstice celebrations, Zuko finally tells Sokka he used to be a boy close to his age. That he died and was reborn a dragon. He leaves out the fact he was a Fire Nation prince, but does tell him his father killed him. Super emotional. Sokka calls him his best friend. Zuko tells him he’s the only friend he ever had.

A year passes. The igloo has had to be rebuilt twice because Zuko has literally grown seven feet in length and three in height. Gran-Gran is making more noises about Zuko sleeping outside, but Zuko flat out refuses. He is not an animal and he will sleep inside with his friend, thank you.

Meanwhile, Sokka’s feeling his oats. He has an awesome dragon friend and he’s about the age the youngest of the warriors were when they took off with Hakoda and company. He wants to join his father as a warrior. And through his time with the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko has come to believe that the war is wrong. He wants to help, too.

There’s a scene where Katara tries to talk Sokka into staying, but Sokka is convinced Hakoda needs him and Zuko to help with the war. Over Katara’s protests, they fly away.

It takes a while to find Hakoda’s ship, and when they do it’s more by luck than anything else. It’s also _super_ fortunate that Zuko isn’t poked full of spears when he comes into land. Luckily, his scales have toughened up. Dragons are tough to kill. (Which is why the Fire Nation made such a big deal of it.)

Hakoda is flabbergasted to see Sokka sitting atop a dragon. He’s also more than mildly alarmed when Zuko’s sheer weight lowers the ship on one side. Hakoda’s ship is the largest of their fleet… and Zuko takes up most of the deck and is putting a strain on all the timbers.

Water Tribe ships are traditional, with most of the work/living being done out on the deck. The problem is there is now a very large, very heavy, very snaky dragon coiled all over it. One who breaks the railing by mistake a couple of hours in.

Hakoda welcomes Sokka, is happy to receive news from the tribe… but the dragon is a problem.

Zuko’s also feeling a little put out. He suddenly finds he doesn’t like Sokka being pawed over by so many people who are strangers. He doesn’t like Sokka smiling, laughing, and exchanging inside jokes with older boys. He sulks in a cloud of smoke and steam that alarms the warriors even more.

(Of course, what is happening is Zuko’s dragon-hoarding instincts are kicking into overdrive. Sokka is **his** and Zuko is finding he doesn’t like to share.)

Morning comes—the men are miserable and cramped. Zuko looks equally miserable. Every time he twitches his tail, he either snaps something or knocks something overboard. (Not a person… yet.) Also, Zuko eats about half a barrel of salted fish in one meal. This is usually enough to feed the men for a week.

Hakoda makes the call: Sokka can take his ice-dodging trials and stay with them as a warrior, but they cannot provide for a dragon.

Sokka argues that he and Zuko can help in their fight against the Fire Nation. No one will ever expect a dragon and rider. They can scout and Zuko can breathe fire in battles. (Zuko gives a demonstration which worries the men more than impresses them.)

Hakoda explains that they don’t fight the Fire Nation directly. They can’t risk the wooden ships or the men. Instead, they lay mines, attack in hit and run missions at night. That sort of thing. The dragon is a majestic creature, but… he’ll just get in the way.

Heartbroken, Sokka chooses to leave his father’s fleet. He won’t trade Zuko to be a warrior.

They’re both pissed off and looking for a fight. Zuko suggests they fly the rest of the way to the Earth Kingdom. Sokka agrees.

They’re in luck: Near the coast, they see a Fire Nation supply cart on a coastal road. They raid it. (Sokka thinks of some cool way to distract the guards and Zuko literally flies down, slashes the ostrich horses free, and lumbers back into the air with the cart in his talons.)

They come away with sacks and sacks of rice and more spices than you can shake a stick at. These are all valuable in the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka and Zuko return to the tribe to share the bounty.

Their return to the South Pole is received with a little confusion but great joy. Sokka fibs a little to the women and says Hakoda thought he was too young to join them. (Thinking he’s sparing Zuko’s feelings and not knowing that Zuko heard everything from his mind. Sokka had been thinking _loudly_ and unshielded when Hakoda had made his offer.)

The women and children are happy for the novelty of spices and rice. For a few weeks, everything’s good… but Sokka has seen the wider world, now. And now he has a way to travel there. He doesn’t have to work hard to convince Zuko to take another trip to the Earth Kingdom.

This time, they land on Kyoshi Island. Sokka would have been captured by the Kyoshi Warriors if not for his hissing, steaming, firebending, extremely flexible rage-snake friend. Events mirror the show—Sokka eventually humbles himself and begins to train as a Kyoshi Warrior. Only he and Zuko stay for a whole week instead of a few days. When Sokka leaves, he’s surprised by Suki’s kiss on his cheek.

Zuko is mildly disgruntled by the whole thing, but can’t say why.

They return to the South Pole. Katara is annoyed they took off without her, but Gran-Gran has a ‘boys will be boys’ attitude and thinks it’s normal and healthy for Sokka to go out on his own. He would be hunting and fishing for weeks with his friends, had the war not taken everyone else away.

Anyway, this sets up a pattern where Sokka and Zuko travel to the Earth Kingdom or Kyoshi Island and back. Sometimes they take Katara along with them, but most of the time they go off by themselves. They trade Water Tribe items, Sokka receives Kyoshi Warrior training, and Zuko loves to raid Fire Nation supply carts. As a growing dragon, he is very food motivated, and bringing back a cart always means a big feast to celebrate.

Things aren’t perfect. Zuko has put in feet of length and a little bulk thanks to the flying. There is no way he can fit in the igloo now. Whenever they’re in the South Pole, he has to sleep outside. Luckily, Sokka camps out with him in his sleeping bag—curling up in the crook between Zuko’s arm and long neck. It makes the nights bearable.

Also… whenever they to go Kyoshi Island, Sokka is with Suki, and his thoughts are shielded from Zuko. Sokka never says what he’s doing, but he comes back smelling like her. Zuko is half-convinced Suki is trying to make Sokka hers and… that isn’t acceptable.

Zuko refuses to talk to Suki or any of the Kyoshi Warriors. His instincts _scream_ to take her out of the picture, but his good sense knows that Sokka would never forgive him if she were hurt, and that makes him miserable.

(For her part, resentment is one-sided. Suki likes Zuko just fine, but doesn’t think much about him. Zuko doesn’t talk to her, and like most people, Suki tends to think of him as a very, very intelligent and surly pet. Like Appa to Aang, but with a lot more smoke… and he shoots her some looks that convinces her to instruct her warriors to offer more food, because he seems hungry all the time.)

Sokka is completely oblivious. He’s head over heels for his first girlfriend, but doesn’t bring it up to Zuko because… rude much? Relationships are kept private in the Water Tribes. Plus, it’s not like there are other dragons for Zuko to meet, so he doesn’t want to rub his happiness in his best friend’s face.

Just before things come to a head between Zuko and Suki, he and Sokka run into Zhao’s ship on their way back from Kyoshi Island. Zuko remembers Zhao from when the Commander was toadying up to Ozai in palace and is like: Ugh, this creep again.

Zhao had always been a little weird around Zuko, and true to form, the Commander’s ship seems to have spotted him in the sky and is following.

He and Sokka can’t risk leading Zhao to the Southern Water Tribe. So they turn tail back to the Earth Kingdom.

This is where the shenanigans begin. It’s still a year out from when Aang comes back in canon. Sokka and Zuko run into General Fong and his army and stay for a while, doing hit and run expeditions on Fire Nation supply lines. A dragon overflying the Fire Nation calvary sends the beasts into a panic every time. The problem is Zuko could do a lot of damage if he attacked the Fire Nation directly—but he refuses. They were his people, once. He will panic stupid beasts and disrupt the supply lines, but he will not kill a Fire Nation soldier except in self-defense.

This is the point he reveals to Sokka _why_ his father killed him, and all about the Agni Kai. He fibs a little, implying he was a nobleman’s kid instead of the Fire Lord’s son. But he had lost his life for speaking out against setting up a division of young Fire Nation recruits as bait. He was not going to turn around and start killing his own people, now.

Sokka is a little annoyed – couldn’t Zuko have brought this up before? – but he gets it. Plus, he and Zuko can still wreak a lot of havoc if Sokka thinks creatively. And he’s great at thinking creatively.

Fong does _not_ get it. Fong goes as far as to threaten Sokka with a blade to gain Zuko’s cooperation, and…

… Zuko Loses His Mind.

Soon, every standing building within the army encampment is either in splinters or on fire. Sokka has to throw himself between Zuko and a whimpering Fong to keep Zuko from tearing him apart. Sokka has never seen Zuko like this—and as they fly away, leaving the Earth Army shattered—Zuko is completely unapologetic. He is nearly too angry to think straight and just says: _You are my friend. **Mine.** They tried to take you. If they managed to hurt you, I would have killed them all._

It doesn’t escape Sokka that Zuko refused to kill Fire Nation troops, but he has no such feelings about the Earth Kingdom.

News of _that_ incident spreads through the continent like wildfire. Fong puts his own spin on the events, and suddenly the Earth Armies aren’t as welcoming as before. Some even suspect Sokka of working for the Fire Nation – Dragons are a Fire Nation creature after all.

Meanwhile, Commander Zhao is always on their heels. He is obsessed with killing Zuko and earning the title ‘Dragon’ for himself. He keeps turning up with weapons that have traditionally been used to hunt dragons—nets that can be launched from catapults and spears with points made to hook between scales and such. Zuko and Sokka have a lot of close calls.

Despite that, Sokka and Zuko do a lot of good, too. He and Sokka can report on Fire Nation troop movements to everyone who listens, they run a small amount of Fire Nation troops out of a town, pass messages on their way from village to village, etc. Sokka gets _real_ good at knocking Fire Nation message hawks out of the sky with his boomerang. Every time he hits one, he finds some Fire Nation intel and Zuko gets a snack. Plus, seeing all the new sights and meeting new people? Awesome.

Except they’re being pushed steadily north by Zhao. Worse, it seems that General Iroh’s ship has joined up him, which shakes Zuko to the core. He and Sokka have talked on and off about Iroh throwing down lightning when Zuko first “died”. Sokka has seen images of the memory and thinks Iroh might have been protecting Zuko. But Zuko isn’t so sure. In the last few years, his human memories have become… strange to him. He hardly understands his thought process as he remembers it. He knows as a boy, he had trusted and respected his Uncle. But he had trusted and loved his father, too.

Now, seeing Iroh on Zhao’s ship during one of their close calls? That’s the icing on the cake. Zuko is convinced Iroh wants to preserve the honor of slaying the last dragon for himself.

At this point, they’re pretty far north – almost to the Northern Air Temple. Sokka realizes… Hey, why don’t we just push the rest of the way and see the Northern Water Tribe?

They’re both feeling a little homesick, so this is a great idea. They are expecting a taste of home. They don’t expect a grand city and a palace made of ice.

After some harrowing moments where Sokka and Zuko are almost locked within an iceberg by jumpy waterbenders, they are welcomed into the city.

Zuko sees Yue’s white hair and knows she is like him, unlucky and marked by death. (White is the funeral shroud color in the Fire Nation for a reason.) Sokka sees Yue and does a low key impression of a Tex Avery cartoon. Not that he’s gross about it, but it highlights how different their reactions are. With great reluctance, Zuko brings up Suki. Sokka points out he and Suki had fun but never made it official between his traveling and her duties. He’s sure she is exploring other relationships. Why shouldn’t he?

Zuko’s dragon-y possessiveness raises its ugly head again. By day, he and Sokka go out exploring the North Pole, maybe do some low-key hunting of dangerous polar creatures for Chief Arnook’s formal celebrations. It’s not important work, but it’s impressive. Sokka quickly gains favor with Arnook. He is invited to feasts and such where he can get closer to Yue.

If Zuko attends one of these celebrations, he sits at his own table (due to his size, which is ever-increasing) and all the polar dogs curl up to his scaley body for warmth. It’s cute and comfortable, but it sort of reinforces in everyone’s minds that Zuko is an animal, not a person with his own thoughts and feelings.

By night, Zuko is often alone while Sokka goes on “activities” with Princess Yue.

Zuko is brooding up on an ice cliff one night, waiting for a sign of Sokka’s return, when he is approached by an old man who introduces himself as Master Pakku.

Pakku says before the war it used to be one of the highest honors to play Pai Sho with a dragon. Would Zuko care to indulge him?

Zuko hated Pai Sho as a human. But he’s bored enough to nod. He doesn’t ‘speak’ to Pakku because unless Pakku is shielding his thoughts, Zuko might pick up his strategy from his mind and that would be dishonorable. Pakku sets up a traveling game table and… Zuko isn’t as horrible at Pai Sho as he remembers? He can see the lines of force and plan out a strategy much clearer with a dragon brain than he had with a human mind. Or maybe it’s hanging out with Sokka for years. Either way, he still loses the game but he gives Pakku a run for his money.

The games become a nightly tradition. Eventually, Yue is busy one night and Sokka is miffed when he realizes Zuko is not in their large, shared home. He eventually finds him on the ice cliff, coiled into a sitting position and playing Pai Sho.

While sipping tea and moving Pai Sho pieces, Pakku dryly rips into Sokka for distracting the Princess from her duties and ditching his dragon companion except when he needs to be flown around looking heroic. Zuko snorts steam all over the table for Pakku’s tone, but… doesn’t disagree. Sokka protests, but it feels thin even to him. He eventually sits down and watches the game.

 **Sokka** : I didn’t know you knew how to play Pai Sho.

 **Zuko** : There are lots of things you don’t know about me.

Sokka also ends up explaining to Pakku why Zuko won’t speak to him. Pakku was starting to think the dragon was shy. Zuko snorts more steam all over him.

Once the game ends and he and Sokka go back home, it’s awkward between the two of them. The boys _should_ talk about their feelings, but… Sokka can’t bring himself to do it, and neither can Zuko.

Although he tries to hide it, Sokka remembers what happened to Fong’s Army… and he doesn’t know what to think about Zuko’s level of devotion. He’s not sure if it’s flattering or scary. He’s starting to slowly realize that he and Zuko have a bond, of sorts, other than friendship. People have often called him a dragon companion, and now he wonders if there is a deeper implication there.

Zuko is just happy to have Sokka here, with him, for the evening instead of out where he could be in danger (or where Yue could try to take him away).

That next morning, two Fire Nation ships stop in front of the ice wall to pass a message: The Fire Nation demands the return of Prince Zuko, Son of Ozai… etc, etc. In a gesture of peace, Commander Zhao has brought only these two ships. But if the Northern Water Tribe does not deliver the scaled traitor, the Fire Lord has authorized the entire navy to come in and retrieve him by force.

At first, Sokka defends Zuko, not believing that his friend could be the Prince of the Fire Nation. But Arnook and the council press the point. Finally, Zuko admits that when he was alive as a human, he was technically the heir to the throne. Yes, he is _that_ Zuko.

Sokka is livid. Arnook and his men are appalled at what Sokka, who has become sort of a celebrity over the last few weeks—eclipsing Hahn—has brought into their walls. As the council convenes to discuss how they will repel the Fire Nation, Sokka turns to Zuko.

How could he lie to him for so long? It’s bad enough he was Fire Nation, but a Fire Nation prince? He put everyone in terrible danger. Now Sokka is disgraced, and Arnook would be crazy if he let him anywhere near Yue again and—

Zuko was sort of ready to take his lumps for keeping the truth to himself for so long, but when Sokka brings up Yue, he snaps. He says he’s tired of being treated as Sokka’s prize polar-bear dog. That Sokka only pays attention to him when Yue isn’t around. He thought they were supposed to be friends—

 **Sokka** : You’re not acting like my friend. You act like I’m something you can own! I’m my own man. I’m going to fix this with Yue. Don’t follow me.

Zuko is in emotional agony. Never mind everything else: Sokka has left him. **They** took Sokka away from Zuko and he has no idea how to get him back. His dragon hoarding instincts are shrieking. He wants to set fire to everything just to watch it burn.

It takes everything he has to sit still and wait for Sokka to return to him… He will return to him. Right?

Less than an hour later, waterbenders attack.

To his shock, Pakku is among them—bending chains of ice around his neck. Zuko goes ballistic, burning through the ice. If he were thinking clearly, he would fly out of reach. But he to refuses leave the city without Sokka.

It takes like twenty waterbenders, but they finally pin him down and secure a muzzle around his mouth. Zuko has his inner fire, but the waterbenders only renew the ice as it melts. Then, they load him on a flat barge to sail him out to the waiting Fire Nation ships.

Sokka is nowhere to be seen.

Zuko is almost to the ships when Pakku looks directly in his eyes and gestures, low key. The ice around his joints melt. Zuko explodes upward, shattering the rest of the ice chains. He takes to the air but Pakku waited too long… they are within weapon’s range of the Fire Nation ships. A specialized anti-dragon jagged spear shoots out from Zhao’s ship and catches him, hooking under his scales along one side. Zuko screams. And more shots wrap iron chains around his legs. Zhao reels him in enough to keep the chains taut, to keep him low enough to aim and shoot.

Zuko feels terror like he hasn’t before—except during the Agni Kai. The final shot is lined up: Zhao is behind this massive spear gun, and it is aimed for his heart.

Instinctively, Zuko breathes out. Rainbow fire engulfs him just as the spear strikes.

No one not looking for it notices the bloody, naked teen fall into the arctic ocean.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sokka has found Yue in the oasis. They talk for a little bit. Yue recognizes that Sokka didn’t know about Zuko’s origin but laments that her father might not care. Then she drops the bomb that, until Sokka showed up Yue was expected to be betrothed to Hahn. But then Sokka arrived and there were thoughts that perhaps Sokka would be a better chief.

Sokka isn’t sure how to process that. He likes Yue a lot, but… he’s fourteen. Marriage seems to be a long way off. Plus, he’s Hakoda’s son. If anything, he should be the Chief of the South Pole. But maybe—just maybe if he was Chief here, he could get the Southern Water Tribe the help that they need?

He could—

He hears/feels/sees Zuko’s scream. It sheers through his nerves right to the bone. In his head, he is with Zuko from the moment the first hook snags him.

Sokka has enough sense to run to the door, but it’s stuck—No. It’s frozen shut. He bangs on the door, and Yue does too, demanding that it be opened. That’s important, but he can’t think of why…

Through Zuko’s eyes, sees Zhao take aim with the final spear. Heat and fire rush over Zuko’s body. Sokka screams, clutching his head.

Then the connection between him and Zuko is cut, leaving only gaping emptiness. Sokka faints away.

* * *

Zuko awakes to rough fabric roughly chaffing his body and soft vulnerable human skin. It feels like someone was drying him off with a rough towel. There are shouts—too many to make sense. He feels small in a way he hadn’t since he died as a human.

A sharp pain across his cheek. Someone had slapped him. He blinks and focuses on Iroh’s frantic face. His jolt of fear is very far away… And why does Iroh look so afraid? Slowly, he realizes his uncle is speaking, telling him to breathe in a certain way, from his belly to pull the fire through his blood.

Iroh leads a very shocky and hypothermic Zuko through the breath of fire. The moment Zuko manages to breathe a flame, warmth floods his body.

There are blankets and towels wrapped around him, which doesn’t make sense. Zuko breathes, and although he is warm, he can’t stop shivering. Eventually the last of his strength drains away and he passes out.

He wakes in a bed, in clothes and bandages, in human skin... just like he used to be, but older. 

Uncle sits by his bedside and explains to a startled Zuko that his men fished him out of the water while Commander Zhao was busy congratulating himself on his own ship. The final spear missed him by inches—though the others left a mark. Thanks to the scales, they are surface wounds, requiring stitches only. Zuko is safe now, and being taken to his people.

There are _so_ many questions, but Zuko can’t verbalize any of them. He can’t remember how to speak with a flat human tongue and flexible lips. Through a lot of starts and stops he is finally able to say Sokka’s name.

Iroh replies that his ally within the Northern Water Tribe (Pakku) assured him that Sokka is well. Arnook kept Sokka away from their plan to turn Zuko over to Commander Zhao.

Zuko never thought for a moment otherwise and the scandalized look he shot Iroh makes his uncle chuckle.

There’s a moment where Iroh brings him tea, and Zuko tries to toss the contents to the back of his throat like the few times he had when someone offered him a bucket of tea as a dragon. Dragons don’t have lips to suck down liquids. This method… doesn’t work as a human. He coughs and sputters. Iroh, patient as ever, hands him another cup and demonstrates bringing it to his own lips.

Zuko tries to snap, “I know that!” but it comes out as a mushy snarl. His tongue has forgotten how to form words, and the process seems so slow and clunky compared to mind-to-mind.

But when he finally manages to drink, the tea is sweet and spicy and shockingly full of flavor. A dragon tongue doesn’t have anywhere near the same palate as a human.

Iroh begins to speak—he starts with several apologies. One, for frightening Zuko so badly after his first transformation. He had to act quickly to give Zuko time to escape. To Ozai and the rest of the Fire Nation, Iroh said that the lightning was only badly aimed. He also apologizes for rehashing things about dragons Zuko probably already knows. Finally, he begins to explain:

Dragons, as Zuko most likely have guessed (he hasn’t) are not extinct. They have simply gone into hiding. Most now live in their human forms. The true dragons—the first dragons—were spirits. They had the heads of lion-turtles, the body of a fire breathing chicken snake, and the wings of a bat-owl. They were also shape-shifters, and when they had children with humans… those mortal children had two forms: One, of fiery creatures roughly resembling their spirit parent, the second of their human parent.

Those mortal dragons lived among humans. Most, in the Fire Nation. Some lived their whole lives as dragons, or as human beings, changing bodies once or twice in a lifetime. Others shifted fluidly between one form and another, according to whim and need.

When those who were in their dragon form had eggs they would naturally birth dragon children who were capable of taking human form only upon fledglinghood. When a dragon had children with a human, those children were _sometimes_ dragons themselves, though they were born in human skin.

The first change was often triggered by extreme stress or trauma. Because it is accompanied by fire, rumors say dragons die in their own fire. They do not, but it is a useful diversion.

Dragons are only born when at least one parent is a dragon. In Zuko’s case, that means Ursa.

As far as anyone can tell, Azula is not a dragon. After Zuko’s transformation, Ozai put her through many rigorous trials and she has always remained human.

They are currently on Iroh’s ship. The crew is loyal to Iroh alone—they will soon leave Zhao’s ship behind and speed to the island where the remaining dragons are hiding.

Zuko’s head is spinning after all this. He manages to communicate he thought he was dead and rose again as a dragon. Iroh apologizes again and tries to get him to eat some soup and drink more. Zuko does, but again and again, his mind goes to Sokka. What would he think of Zuko now? Does he still hate him, and is he relieved that Zuko is gone?

Soon, though, he falls asleep.

* * *

Sokka wakes in a healing hut with Arnook at his bedside.

The place where Zuko had been in his mind—a place he hadn’t realized was even there—is empty. He can barely think through his grief, but demands to know what happened. Why had he been locked in the oasis when Zuko had needed him?

Arnook apologizes and says he had Sokka sequestered while the council deliberated how to repel the two Fire Nation ships. However, Zuko suddenly flew out, attacked the ships on his own, and was sadly felled. His body is with the sea, now, and the Fire Nation has left their waters.

Sokka can barely speak, barely think through his grief. Only pride and wanting to be seen as a full-grown man keeps him from breaking down. He says that the Fire Nation will be back to attack the Northern Water Tribe. Not tomorrow, or maybe not the season, but someday.

To his surprise, Arnook agrees.

Then Arnook makes a proposal: Sokka is the son of the Southern Chief. Arnook is aware they do things differently in the south, but Sokka has shown himself to be a brave leader with a noble heart. When he comes of age, Arnook would have him marry his daughter and be trained to lead the tribe. Perhaps, someday, a _united_ tribe.

“But I thought—You guys were so angry when you found out Zuko used to be a Prince—”

“All leaders have subordinates who fail them, Sokka. It is how we recover from that failure that counts.”

“He wasn’t a subordinate. He was my friend.”

And it shames him to learn he had not lost Arnook’s regard at all. The last thing he said to Zuko, the last argument… it hadn’t been untrue, but it has been terrible.

Arnook leaves Sokka to recover, and think.

Sokka let’s himself weep at last. A long time later, when he calms down, he does think: He thinks about what he’s seen in the Northern Water Tribe, and what he would like to change. Things he never told Zuko about, like how they treat their girls here. And the stagnant hierarchy between warriors, craftsmen, and benders. He realizes he had been treating Zuko like someone who wouldn’t care or understand human politics. Like an animal.

He has to do better, for Zuko’s memory if nothing else. That starts with talking with Yue and making sure this engagement is okay with her before he says yes to Arnook.

* * *

Iroh takes Zuko to the Sun Warriors.

Every adult member of the tribe are dragons. Their human-born young are raised, educated, and taught firebending and allowed to change forms when they are ready. The dragon children usually stay on the island. However, if they cannot change bodies and are determined to be human, they are expected to make their own way in the world once they reach adulthood.

Zuko meets his mother who has taken a new husband-mate, Ikem, and finds he has a five-year-old sister who just can’t wait to change into her dragon form for the first time.

Through Ursa, Zuko learns of his other dragon ancestors. Notably, Ta Min had many children with Avatar Roku. Her dragon form was named Fang. (Before the war, it was fashionable to have two names. One dragon, one human.) Ta Min was both a dragon companion and husband to Roku.

The story makes Zuko’s heart ache. It feels like he thinks about Sokka about once every other minute, and hearing of Ta Min and Roku finally unlocks the secret he had buried deep within himself: He loved Sokka. He had as a dragon, though it was different—possessive and protective and a little animalistic. As a human, he can feel the full range of affection he’d had for his friend.

But he knows Sokka never wanted him that way, and might still be angry for Zuko’s deception. Now they are separated by half the planet. It was doubtful they will ever see each other again.

He broods in the way only Zuko can, and it’s one of the great masters, Ran, who summons him to her cave.

Ran and Shaw are the oldest living dragons in the world. They prefer to spend most of their time in their scaled forms. So Zuko is honored when Ran transforms into her human skin so that they may speak easier. Though she is centuries old, she looks perhaps fifty in human years.

Over tea, it’s she who brings up Sokka by name. This surprises Zuko because he never Sokka’s name on the island. His name burned in his heart, but it hurt too much to speak it aloud.

Ran says that the first time is the hardest when a human bonds with a dragon. It always ends in tragedy, seeing as humans are so short-lived, but those who have bonded all say it is worth it. Though Zuko is… quite young.

Zuko is _red_ from embarrassment. Dragons tend to be more forward about matters of love and sex than a human raised in the oppressive Fire Nation.

Ran cautions Zuko that he must not give in to grief. That it can kill a dragon by making them waste away—though there is less of a danger of this occurring while Zuko is in human skin. She advises Zuko to embrace his people and learn as much as he can of himself and his heritage.

He confesses how he and Sokka argued and he worries he’ll never see him again.

Ran thinks that he will. Humans are not _that_ short-lived. There is plenty of time to make amends. But when they meet again, what kind of person will Zuko be? Will he be a strong warrior who can make Sokka proud? Or will he be a shadow of himself, wasted to a husk by grief?

It’s exactly what Zuko needs to hear. He realizes the thing Sokka wants—and the thing _he_ wants second only to wanting to see Sokka again—is an end to the war. He can help do that.

Zuko begins to learn firebending, Sun Warrior style. He also joins classes with other teens his age who are trying to learn how to intentionally transform into their dragon bodies. Trauma can force the change, but meditation and a sense of inner stillness is a much healthier way to go about it. Unfortunately, inner stillness is not something easily learned by creatures of fire.

In any case, Zuko gathers a group of friends. His human speech and vocabulary steadily improves to where it was before he first changed. He trains diligently, picks up the art of dual swords from another Sun Warrior. When Zuko has focused on a goal, he goes after it with everything he has.

Finally, at the end of a year, he intentionally changes to his dragon form.

That is about when rumors of the Avatar’s return begin to surface.

* * *

Sokka is completely gobsmacked to see his sister jump down from the sky bison’s saddle and stand next to the Avatar.

It hurts worse than the empty ache still present in his mind when Katara’s eyes pass over him, unseeing. He hadn’t changed that much, had he? Sokka steps forward. Finally, Katara focuses on him. Her jaw drops.

They rush to each other and hug, exclaiming. Sokka has grown, but so has Katara. She practically a woman, now! She introduces Aang, and Sokka introduces Yue—remembering to introduce Arnook at the last second.

Finally, later, as the official greeting party splits up and Sokka leads Katara and Aang to see the palace courtyards, Katara looks expectantly around. Sokka’s heart drops.

“Where’s Zuko?” she asks.

“Zuko? That’s your dragon, right?” Aang pipes up, bouncing on his toes. “Katara’s told me all about him. Me and my friend Kuzon used to see dragons all the time a hundred years ago. I can’t wait to meet him!”

Sokka has to break the story. He doesn’t mention he and Zuko’s argument—it’s too hard to think about, much less talk about it. And he might _imply_ that Zuko was defending the tribe instead of being the cause for the trouble.

Katara is brought to tears, and seeing it makes Sokka want to cry all over again. Over the last year, he’s tried to stuff his grief into the empty hole in his mind… but it seems to have no bottom.

Then, to his surprise, Katara starts railing on him. Why hadn’t Sokka come home? How could he just abandon them? Even Dad told them he was leaving ahead of time. She and Gran-Gran hadn’t known if he was alive or dead… and now Zuko _was_ dead. How could Sokka let this happen?

Sokka finds he doesn't have an argument against her. The choice seemed so clear at the time: Stay with Yue. Help his tribe by becoming the chief of this one. (Maybe, someday find some way to fill the hole in his heart.)

But now he sees himself through Katara's eyes: A stranger who is more in line with the Northern Water Tribe than his own.

Even worse is his relationship with Yue. They are good together... as friends. They get along. Yue is smart and funny and much more knowledgeable about Tribe politics than he is. On paper, it's perfect.

But somewhere, just when he wasn't looking, the spark of attraction between them burned out. Maybe it fell into the sea and drowned, like Zuko.

Hanging out with Katara and Aang, he feels more like himself than he has in a long time. Like the old Sokka had been fading away without him realizing it. Now he is coming back, and Sokka realizes he _liked_ who he used to be. He's not a big fan of the mini politician who had let himself become Arnook's puppet.

He doesn’t step in to stop Katara when she challenges Pakku. In fact, he cheers her on along with Aang. This makes him lose favorability within the council, but that's fine. He's never cared for the way the Northerners treat their women.

Yue tries to be supportive, but he reads disquiet in her eyes. The members of the council who supported Yue's marriage to Hahn begin to whisper that Sokka may not be fit to lead after Arnook after all.

Everything falls to pieces shortly after the Fire Nation arrives with an entire armada of ships—this time chasing the Avatar. Sokka and Hahn volunteer for a dangerous mission. (Sokka, because he feels it's his duty as Yue's future husband, Hahn because he wants to show Sokka up.) Like in canon, they butt heads in planning. This time, Hahn's father—second to the chief—breaks up the fight... and insinuates a sexual relationship between Sokka and his dragon.

It is a ridiculous accusation, but something about the venom in the man's voice doesn't sit right with him. Sokka is thrown off the special mission (another disgrace, but he doesn't care) and is instead charged with protecting Yue, which would be his duty anyway.

The siege happens. This time, Aang is not taken away from the sacred moon spirit pool. During the fight, Zhao makes a mention that the Fire Nation will win and the Northern Water Tribe cannot _buy_ their peace this time.

Sokka puts it together at last. A hundred different tail ends to conversations he was not meant to overheard and did not understand. Zuko was betrayed by the Northern Water Tribe and Sokka let it happen. Worse, he _joined_ them afterward. He flies into a rage—if he had been the Avatar, he would have gone all eye glowy. He is not a bender, but he's been training to fight for over a year and the surprise is enough to give team Avatar the edge long enough for Arnook's backup to arrive.

Zhao is taken down by Sokka. The man who sought the title ‘Dragon’ is taken down just short of his goal by a former dragon companion.

The moon spirit is saved, Yue does not make a sacrifice, but Sokka's trust in the Northern Water Tribe dead. With Katara and Aang at his side, he confronts Arnook. It's Pakku who admits what happened: Zuko never flew off to confront the ships Fire Nation ships. He was staked out like an arctic yak to slaughter.

Yue is horrified. She had no idea this deception had happened. Sokka apologizes, but says the Northern Water Tribe broke his trust. He cannot lead them. He cannot marry her.

Arnook tries to talk him around—Yue must marry _someone_. Katara speaks up for her: The choice of who to marry should be Yue's, alone. Aang backs her up, and since he is the Avatar, Arnook is forced to agree. He looks like he has just sucked on a lemon-egg. Seeing his plans fall to the wayside is shallow revenge for Zuko's death, but Sokka will take it.

He and Yue part as friends. Yue knows she will marry someday, but when she does, it will be her choice. Sokka tells her to invite him and Aang to the wedding: Just so they can make sure it's her decision. Laughing, she agrees.

Furthermore, Pakku proposes to send aid to their Southern sister tribe—as an act of penance in the hope to secure a good working relationship in the future. Sokka agrees, but promises nothing in return. He thinks it will be a warm day in the South Pole when he trusts Arnook or the council again.

When Aang and Katara leave to go search for an earthbending master, it's a no brainer: Sokka goes with them.

* * *

Zuko’s white scales set him apart from the rest of the dragons. He has come to accept the fact he is unlucky.

Again, he is called to the masters. This time Ran and Shaw stay in their dragon forms. Out of politeness, Zuko changes to his scales. He is still learning to do so and keep his human clothes on when he returns back to that form, but doesn’t quite make it this time. He knows his shirt will be ripped when he returns back to human form.

Ran and Shaw explain that dragon hides come in all the colors of the rainbow. The most common are variations of red, blue, and green. There are other colors, though vanishingly rarer. The white scales do signify death and misfortune, yes, but also foretell of a great change within the world.

They say the dragon to teach the first Avatar was a white dragon. It was this long ago dragon who saw the battle between the spirits of Chaos and Order, and brought news to the rest of the world. In this, there was much change. Now, it may be happening again.

The Avatar has returned.

Zuko knows then that it’s his destiny to teach the Avatar firebending. Ran and Shaw agree, though this Avatar is an Air Nomad child and fire will be the last element he learns. However, the world cannot wait for years for that to happen. They tell Zuko that Sozin’s Comet will return at the end of this coming summer, and before that, a full solar eclipse will darken the Fire Nation. Surely, the Avatar will want to strike his enemy when he is weakest.

To his dragon logic, that makes sense. Zuko vows to train even harder and learn as much as he can of firebending so he may pass the knowledge on to the Avatar. He will also join in the battle on the Day of Black Sun.

Only after he leaves, he realizes he has not thought once of Sokka the entire meeting. He feels destiny settle upon him like a cloak. Somewhere in all the obsessive training, his goals shifted. He wasn’t only aiming to end the war to show Sokka he was good enough…

… He had begun to do it for himself. Because he had lived among the Water Tribe, the Fire Nation, and the Earth Kingdom, and now the Sun Warriors. He wants them to live in peace. _He_ wants to end the threat to the world once and for all.

With the Avatar, he can accomplish that.

* * *

After Sokka leaves the North Pole with Aang and Katara, season 2 is fairly similar to the show—the close calls with Azula are extra ugly, considering Sokka knows/knew her brother. He and Suki talk things out during the Serpent’s Pass. He tells her everything that happened between him and Yue and pretty much says he’s not ready for another relationship just yet. Suki kisses his cheek as a friend and says she understands.

There is no betrayal in Ba Sing Se, but Aang is still zapped by lightning. They go to the Fire Nation, and fail during the Day of the Black Sun.

No one sees a white dragon hovering in high altitude over the Fire Nation capital. At that height, his scales hide him against the blue sky and even Zuko’s dragon vision can’t focus fully on the Avatar’s companions from that far away. He recognizes the sky bison and follows him to the Western Air Temple.

After Aang’s friends press him to learn firebending, Aang skips off on his own. Only when he lands on a distant balcony, an unfamiliar Fire Nation teen steps out of the shadows. He introduces himself as Zuko. (Huh, must be a common name in the Fire Nation) and says he’s not there to hurt them. He thinks it’s his destiny to teach the Avatar firebending.

Aang pushes back on this, and he and Zuko have a back and forth exchange about the nature of fire. (Destruction vs life). After hearing this, Aang starts to believe that maybe this boy is there to help.

That’s when Katara shows up, calling for Aang. Zuko stands and stares at her, confused.

“Katara? What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t know who he is, but the scar and the eyes are similar… “Zuko?”

They hug and demand explanations from each other at the same time, talking over each other.

“How are you human?”

“Why aren’t you in the South Pole?”

“We thought you were dead!”

“How are you traveling with the Avatar?”

“Sokka’s been out of his mind, he thought you were gone.”

“Sokka’s here?” etc.

Just then, hearing the noise, Sokka shows up seeing an unfamiliar boy embracing his sister.

Their eyes meet and it’s instant recognition. Although they don’t know it, both their hearts stutter at the same time. Wordlessly, Sokka rushes over and crushes Zuko in a hug. Then he pulls apart, grips his shoulders, looks Zuko up and down, and demands, “HOW?”

“Dragons have two forms. I didn’t know.” He glances around, sheepish. “It’s supposed to be a secret—the only reason dragons survived being hunted by the Fire Nation—so, um, if you guys can keep that to yourselves…”

Sokka hugs him again, laughing and maybe crying a little. Zuko does the same, and it’s a long time until they can bring themselves to part.

Of course, Toph has to be told the truth, but they agree to tell Haru, Teo, and The Duke that Zuko is human.

They all talk around the campfire. Sokka pulls him aside and they try to apologize to each other at the same time, stop when they realize they're interrupting each other, start again, repeat… Finally, Zuko rushes on.

As a dragon, he didn’t know why he had become so possessive, but it’s no excuse for trying to control Sokka. He thought that Sokka was safe up in the Northern Water Tribe. He’d worried he’d want nothing to do with Zuko anymore.

Sokka apologizes, too, for not treating him as a person. For believing the worst of him when Arnook lied. For giving Zuko reason to doubt him.

Zuko asks if they are still friends. They are.

* * *

The Western Air Temple is too well known to the Fire Nation to hide them for long. They decide to split the group. Zuko will take Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph to the Sun Warriors. (The Avatar and his teachers are allowed to know the secret of the dragons, and Zuko will vouch for Sokka personally), while Haru, Teo, and the Duke hide out in a nearby village that is neutral to the Fire Nation.

Zuko transforms into his dragon form to lead the way. Sokka makes a simple riding harness out of nearby vines. They dance and cavort through the sky and it’s a lot like old times.

They arrive at the Sun Warrior island, and Aang is judged by the masters and receives the secret of fire. Only this time, they stay at the Sun Warrior village so he can learn intensive firebending. They have a meal with Ursa, Ikem, and Kiyi. That’s when Sokka hears about dragon companions (from the story of Roku and Ta Min) and starts to put two and two together with Zuko’s earlier possessiveness, and the strange empty feeling in his heart that seemed to have eased recently.

He doesn’t tell Zuko, and Zuko doesn’t bring it up, either. Sokka begins to think (and worry) that Zuko has moved on.

Zuko gets Aang started on the basics of firebending, but sees Sokka is distracted. Asks him what’s wrong—learns about Hakoda’s imprisonment.

The Boiling Rock happens, and in all the stress and fear… Sokka realizes he is distracted by Zuko’s human form. Like, he can’t stop staring at him. There’s something building in his heart—he’s had this feeling before, with Suki and Yue, and this is not the time, but…

Then during the escape, Azula shows up. With Sokka at his side, Zuko confronts his sister. But things go… a little differently. Azula’s life after Zuko’s Agni Kai was hellish. Dragons transform out of stress and Ozai put her through almost every test imaginable to see if she was human or dragon. She is still a force of firebending, but she has grown to hate and distrust Ozai as much as she fears him.

The final crack comes when Zuko tells Azula he can’t take the throne. Only a human can lead the Fire Nation. It was always Azula’s destiny. Not his.

She hesitates and that allows everyone to escape. Then, after everyone is gone, Azula threatens the warden and everyone else to keep what happened a secret—on pain of execution via lightning.

When Sokka and Zuko return, Katara seems to be in an increasingly sour mood. Southern Raiders happens, only instead of repairing the trust broken in Ba Sing Se, their strained relationship is eased from Zuko taking Sokka away from the South Pole. (Which Katara unconsciously blamed him for.) For the first time, Katara rides Zuko’s dragon form alone—and confronts Yon Rha. When they return, they talk, and Katara thanks Zuko for his help. From then on, they are close friends.

Peace is interrupted when Azula finds her way to the Sun Warriors. (Why? How? Because she’s MFing Azula. That’s how.) But just as the dragons are gearing up for battle, she proposes a truce. She will call off the dragon hunt in exchange for the throne. Then she shares Ozai’s plan to burn down the Earth Kingdom.

Aang gives his Avatar Seal Of Approval, but things go south very quickly when Azula asks point-blank how Aang plans to kill Ozai.

Aang refuses to kill him, says there must be another way… although he can’t think of one. Arguments start, and Azula takes off back to the Fire Nation saying she will not risk her life for the Avatar if he won’t do the same by taking down Ozai.

It's unclear if she plans to keep the location of the Sun Warriors a secret or not.

Aang disappears in the same circumstances as he did during the finale. No one knows where he is. Finally, Team Avatar decide they have to do what they can to stop Ozai and hope Aang will pull through. Hakoda leaves, too, to find warriors who escaped during Day of Black Sun and see if he can bring them together in time to do something about the comet.

On Appa, Katara, Toph, and Suki take off after the airships. Zuko and Sokka go to the Fire Nation to back up Azula (and possibly try to convince her one more time to be on Aang’s side).

They stop overnight at Ember Island. Zuko shows Sokka around, but the place is in crumbles—disused for years and left to rot in the tropical heat. They end up camping out on the beach. The talk of Zuko’s few happy childhood memories turns to some of their adventures back in the South Pole. Zuko admits to Sokka the years in the South were some of the happiest of his life.

On the dark beach, it’s easy to talk and confess. Sokka tells Zuko about how he felt after he thought Zuko died at the North Pole. The empty feeling that had been in his heart. Zuko begins to apologize, but Sokka kisses him, cutting it short. After a shocked second, Zuko kisses him back.

That night on the beach, they let themselves forget about the oncoming comet and Aang’s disappearance.

In the morning, Zuko changes again to his dragon skin and flies Sokka to the palace. Ozai is not there: He went with the airships, which no one expected because Ozai has never led a military engagement. Worse, he crowned Azula Fire Lord on his way out.

This Azula did not crack and banish everyone from the palace. As a result, she is surrounded by guards, Fire Sages, and military officials all ready and willing to fight for her cause.

Zuko, wary, asks if Azula will keep her agreement.

“Why should I?” she asks. “I already have the crown.” She holds the moment, giving Zuko and Sokka separate heart attacks before continuing, “Not that it means anything. Dad’s already crowned himself Phoenix King, above the Fire Lord.”

She then tells Zuko to come up to the throne and bow before her. Give up his claim as the rightful heir.

It could be a trick. She could easily strike him down while kneeling. Azula always lied as a child. But she has not been a child for a long time. Sokka squeezes his hand and Zuko walks up to the throne. He bows to her, forehead touching the floor.

Again Azula holds the moment as if considering. Then she turns to the Fire Sage and tells him to record the fact that Ozai abacated the position of Fire Lord to her, and so did her brother. In doing so, her word became law. She, Fire Lord Azula, was officially making the slaying of dragons a crime.

Several of the high military officials object: Also what about Ozai?

She smirks and inwardly revels in taking revenge for years of torment in order to chase ‘perfection’.

“The Fire Lord does not acknowledge the authority of the so-called Phoenix King. For abandoning his sworn duty to rule and turning his back on the Fire Nation, he is hereby banished.”

This causes a huge uproar from those who supported Ozai. It turns into an outright battle with Azula, Zuko, and Sokka on one side, half a dozen outraged generals and admirals on the other.

All (except Sokka) are powerful firebenders, but Sokka is a fierce warrior in his own right. Word travels quickly down to the harbor, and several of the battleships turn to attack their own people. It’s a civil war breaking out before their eyes.

Sokka splits off with some of Azula’s loyal troops to deal with the ships. Zuko wants to help, but Azula must hold the palace at all costs. He switches into his dragon form—the outsized halls within the palace are large enough to admit his snaky body. (He wonders if they were built on a dragon’s scale on purpose.)

Down in the harbor, Sokka comes up with his version of airship slice (battleship slice?) to take out some of the rouge ships before they turn their weapons on their own people. Some of the rouge captains turn tail to escape through the open gates of Azulon—clearly intending on sailing to the Earth Kingdom and joining Ozai’s forces there.

They are stopped by Hakoda and his men who escaped the Day of Black Sun, and who managed to steal another Fire Nation cutter. He and Sokka’s forces fall on the remaining ships like arctic wolves.

The day is won, but no one knows what happened with Ozai. That night, Zuko is too exhausted to change back to his human body. He curls up to sleep in the palace courtyard, Sokka sleeping by the crook of his neck like old times.

Appa flies in late the following day, with Aang, Katara, Toph, Suki… and a trussed-up, fireless, Ozai on his back. Aang had learned the secret of energybending.

The next week, after a celebration to formally announce the end of the war, Hakoda asks Sokka if he wants to join him and the men on their voyage back to the South Pole.

Sokka declines. He and Zuko plan on going home, later, but first they intend to travel to Ba Sing Se. They’ve heard rumors that a mysterious group used the chaos of Sozin’s Comet to free the city. (Azula suspects Iroh’s involvement, but won’t tell the boys why… and Zuko wants to meet his uncle again.) From there, they plan to travel the Earth Kingdom and reinforce Fire Lord Azula’s orders to the troops to stand down. The war is over.

Hakoda sees his son as a full grown man for the first time.

Zuko and Sokka fly off into the sunset, together.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Twenty years later, Councilman Sokka is one of the more respected officials in Republic City. He could be president, if he felt like it, but likes the freedom of the council. Most people see him as powerful for many reasons, his intellect, diplomatic reasoning, his connections by being married to the Fire Lord’s brother, and the fact he is the companion to a dragon. Not many people know dragons have two forms, and hardly anyone puts together the fact that they never see Prince Zuko and Sokka’s dragon in the same place.

Sokka is in such high demand that he has trouble getting away from work sometimes. The scene opens with him walking out the door, a young intern trailing at his heels asking questions about the upcoming session.

Finally, laughingly, Sokka puts him off. They’ve worked hard this legislative session, and will continue to work hard after the council’s recess is over. But for now, he is going on vacation at his second home in the South Pole.

Confused, the intern looks around. Sokka and his husband are usually together—unless prince Zuko is off on his duties being a diplomat for peace—but Zuko is nowhere to be seen. When he asks, Sokka assures him that he’ll meet his husband at the pole before he climbs into the saddle aboard his waiting dragon.

 _You are ridiculous_ , Zuko tells him affectionately through their link, and buzzes Air Temple Island, briefly interrupting acolytes who are trying to meditate, before they turn south and head over the sea.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this far! 
> 
> Again, this is the abridged version. If you want to tackle this story and write it out in full, go for it. Add your own twists, too! Fanfiction is meant to be shared in all forms.
> 
> Check out my Tumblr for Avatar stuff, memes, and fanfic rambling.  
> awesomeavocadolove.tumblr.com


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